The demands being placed on Lake Malawi are expected only to increase: The human population is projected to triple between 2010 and 2050. Effects of the Great Lakes' thermal influence on freeze-free dates in spring and fall as determined by Hopkins' bioclimatic law, Agricult. Some of the worlds biggest lakes that straddle one or more international borders are found in this continent. [1] A number of small streams flow into Lake Bosumtwi, but there is no drainage from it. [1] The most widespread vegetation type is savanna, the woodlands of which, depending on local soil and climatic conditions, may contain such trees as red ironwood and shea. [1] The Kwahu Plateau marks the southern end of the basin, and forms a natural part of the Ashanti Uplands. This plan called for the detonation in boreholes of 213 nuclear devices, each yielding 1.5 megatons (i.e. : University of Notre Dame Press. Lake Naivasha is also another large lake in the countrys Great Rift Valley region. [1] This coastal savanna, only about 8 kilometres (5.0mi) in width at its western end, stretches eastward through the Accra Plains, where it widens to more than 80 kilometres (50mi), and terminates at the southeastern corner of the country at the lower end of the Akwapim-Togo Ranges. [1] Several streams and rivers also dry up or experience reduced flow during the dry seasons of the year, while flooding during the rainy seasons is common. After three hours, we arrived at the home of Stauffers friends Tony and Maria, a Portuguese couple whose patio offered my first view of the lake. The Adomi Bridge sits on this lake. [1] Renewed efforts to improve communications, to enhance agricultural production, and to improve standards of living began in earnest in the mid-1980s. Taking the central part of Ghana, the Volta Basin covers about 45 percent of the nation's total land surface. Nearly one-fifth of its total area is covered by open water or swampland. June 20, 1886, Page 8 Buy Reprints. In: Climatology. The sahara is a desert wasteland barely capable of supporting large cities. Cookie Settings, when I was a boy, shopping to fill an aquarium. Many of them live together in the same populations, where nothing in the environment prevents them from mixing with one another. Id wanted a saltwater tank, because its inhabitants tend to be so much more colorful, but my parents nixed that idea as too demanding. 100 times that of the atomic bomb used against Hiroshima). The cichlids did not mind mein fact, I realized I was closer to wild exotic animals than I had ever been on land. of Appl. [1] The lowlands that lie to the south of the Ashanti Uplands receive the many rivers that make their way to the sea. A pumped-storage hydroelectricity facility would increase the peak production capacity with another 4,000 megawatts, totaling about 5,800 megawatts. [1] From here, the country extends inland for some 670 kilometres (420mi) to about 11 north. They came from a freshwater lake, he said, but they were as colorful as the residents of any coral reef. Photo by David. It has a total area of around 30,244,050 square km. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative, Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips, Not logged in Some are gigantic, while others are small. The Qattara depression is a region that lies 60 m below sea level on average and is currently a vast, uninhabited desert. [1] Rising south of the Kwahu Plateau and flowing southward, the Pra enters the Gulf of Guinea east of Takoradi. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation. [1], There are four distinct geographical regions. Some of the countrys major lakes are Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, Lake Elementaita, Lake Naivasha, etc. Eutrophication, pollution, the proliferation of invasive species of flora and fauna, etc., threaten the water quality of these lakes. My safari would be completely underwater, but even so there would be astonishing variety. The lake is formed by the Akosombo Dam ( q.v. Another major lake located in Kenya is Lake Turkana. [1], The Ankobra, which flows to the west of the Pra, has a relatively small drainage basin. [1], A number of rivers are found to the east of the Pra. He theorized that the birds had evolved into different species because theyd been isolated in different habitats and adapted to different types of food. This fit within the Atoms for Peace program proposed by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. Some of them are among the largest man-made lakes in the world. Large waves clapped against the hull, and on West Thumbi Island a white-headed African fish eagle sat vigilant in a tree. Africa has about 30,000 km 3 of water in large lakes and reservoirs [5], [6], both natural (Lake Victoria) and artificial (Lake Nasser).Many lakes have had great attention, including Lakes Nasser, Victoria, Volta, and Tanganyika. No. Advertising Notice Privacy Statement : Techniques Development Lab, Systems Development Office, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Its walls were a mosaic of mbuna pecking at the moss, narrowing toward a floor of sandy bowers. Although it is a landlocked country, much of its border is lakeshore. Some Predicted Climatic Effects of a Simulated Sahara Lake, Rep. R-1415-ARPA. Mercator's World. The project emanates from H. Soergel, of Munich. Some of them have very few lakes while others abound in these water bodies. [8][9] The Volta Lake in Ghana is the largest artificial reservoir in the world in terms of surface area and contained behind the Akosombo Dam. [1] Archeological finds indicate that the region was once more heavily populated. Consequently, use of nuclear explosives to excavate the canal was another proposal by Bassler. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. I was going to meet Jay Stauffer Jr., a Penn State ichthyologist and one of the most respected cichlid experts in the world. Most of these dams provide drinking water to the Greater Accra and the Volta region. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative, Nature (Nature) Lakes, natural and artificial, modify the climates of their surrounding areas. The climatic effects of the Great Lakes of North America have been studied extensively, as have the effects of Lake Balaton in Hungary, Lake Baikal in the Soviet Union, and the Masurian Lakes of Poland. Located in Zambia and Zimbabwe, it can hold up to 180.6 cubic kilometers of water. [1] The Ankobra and Tano are navigable for considerable distances in their lower reaches. 1. [1] Because strong surf pounds the shoreline, two artificial harbours were built at Takoradi and Tema (the latter completed in 1961) to accommodate Ghana's shipping needs. The effect of evaporation from Lake Baikal on precipitation in adjacent regions (in Russian), Glavnaia Geofizicheskaia Observatoriia, Trudy 247, 122126. [1] The virtual absence of tsetse flies in the region has led to increased livestock raising as a major occupation in the north. Her tiny fry were almost invisible, and she began inhaling them as we floated overhead. My head was still swimming, though. [1], The largest part of the low plains is the Akan Lowlands. I knew it was unlikely that I would return soon to Malawi, though I understood why someone like McKaye would stay for a decade. With this continuously flowing water, hydroelectricity could be generated. [1] The plateau also marks the northernmost limit of the forest zone. It decided in 1975 that Bassler and a group of companies known as "Joint Venture Qattara" should conduct a feasibility study of the project. Bull. Silver Spring, Md. Ghana lies between latitudes 4 and 12N. The three African countries with the highest number of lakes are Uganda, Kenya, and Cameroon. This is beside the fact that Africa is the home of the world's second-largest lake by surface area; Lake Victoria. Its not uncommon for an animal to have some degree of choosiness when it selects a mate. Part of Springer Nature. [1] Rainfall averages between 1,000 and 1,150 millimetres (39 and 45in) annually, although in the northwest it is closer to 1,350 millimetres (53in). These lakes support very important fisheries. It would provide work during construction and living areas after completion for the, M. A. Eizel-Din and M. B. Bassler was the driving force behind the Qattara Project for nearly a decade. The waters of these lakes are thus saturated with carbon-dioxide. New York: McGraw-Hill. 10. https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Volta, Lakepedia - Lake Volta, Ghana: The Biggest Reservoir in the World by Surface Area. Strong, A. E., 1972. It also is a major fishing ground and provides irrigation water for farmland in the dry Accra Plains lying immediately below the damsite. The artificial Lake Kariba, which was created between 1958 and 1963 and spans 300 kilometers in length and 5 000 square kilometers in surface area, is an actual sea on the enormous Zambezi River. An outlet by the lower Congo would provide abundant water power or, alternatively, an outlet could be arranged to the north to create a second inland sea centring around Lake Chad, which would drain through existing wadis to the west, north-east and east by a second Nile to the Gulf of Gabes in the Mediterranean. Terms of Use Nature Demining would be needed to remove some of the millions of unexploded ordnance left from World War II in Northern Egypt. Artificial lakes also provide recreational use for boating, . I was keen to swim out to the island and see the fish, but Stauffer pointed to a pair of periscoping eyeballs just offshorea hippo, one of the most aggressive animals on the continent. [1], To avoid the lowest-lying areas the road between Accra and Keta makes a detour inland just before reaching Ada, and approaches Keta from the east along the narrow spit on which the town stands. 436463. [1] A narrow strip of grassy and scrubby coast runs from a point near Takoradi in the west to the Togo border in the east. Bill, R. G., Jr., et al., 1978. It includes lakes that were formed naturally, and a few wetlands. These lakes are Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, and Lake Elementaita. It would take a total of 10 years to fill to that level. Meteorol. Hydroelectric macro-engineering concept in Egypt. Irrigated land: [1] The main occupation of the delta people is fishing, an industry that supplies dried and salted fish to other parts of the country. The Qattara Depression Project, or Qattara Project for short, is a macro-engineering project concept in Egypt. [1], Navigation on the Volta River has changed significantly since 1964. Heavy floods caused loss of life and widespread damage in 2007 and 2009. [1] The middle and lower Tano basins have been intensely explored for oil and natural gas since the mid-1980s. [1] A 24-metre (79ft) pontoon was commissioned in 1989 to link the Afram Plains to the west of the lake with the lower Volta region to the east. After that the incoming flow would balance out against the outgoing evaporation and would cause the lake level to stop changing. [1] Near the Afram River, much of the surrounding countryside is flooded or swampy during the rainy seasons. Eventually, this would result in a hypersaline lake or a salt pan as the water evaporates and leaves the salt it contains behind. 34(2), 7782. Ben Crair writes frequently for the New Yorker, New York magazine and Bloomberg Businessweek. of Great Lakes Research, 4(34), 288309. [1], On the other side of the Kwahu Plateau from Lake Volta are several river systems, including the Pra, Ankobra, Tano and Densu. International agreements (signed, but not ratified). Africa has a great number of both natural and artificial lakes. Swamps occupy much larger tropical areas than lakes. [1] Land and Sea Breezes [3] To the south and southwest of the Kwahu Plateau, where the annual mean rainfall from north to south ranges from 1,250 to 2,150 millimetres (49 to 85in), four separate seasons occur. In Cameroon, Lake Chad occupies the extreme north-eastern corner edge of the country. The water was as blue as any Caribbean idyll, and a small domed island 100 yards offshore appeared to float like a scoop of sherbet. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. They were excavated from the ancient glaciers that once covered these areas. [3] Farther to the north, Kumasi receives an average annual rainfall of about 1,400 millimetres (55in), while Tamale in the drier northern savanna receives rainfall of 1,000 millimetres (39in) per year. [1] This trade is now carried by road and rail transportation. [1] Should this plan come to reality, much of the area could be opened to large-scale cultivation. The alkalinity of these lakes supports the growth of algae which attracts flamingos in large numbers of these lakes. [1] It rises in the hilly region of Bibiani and flows in a southerly direction to enter the gulf just west of Axim. How many lakes are in Zambia? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Baker, D. G., 1976. [3], Dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March. Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands. For estuaries (river mouths) see List of estuaries of South Africa, or if they are more the lagoon type List of lagoons of South Africa, and for bays see List of bays of South Africa . Id wanted a saltwater tank, because its inhabitants tend to be so much more colorful, but my parents nixed that idea as too demanding. It can be a totally arbitrary trait, says Alex Jordan, a cichlid researcher affiliated with the Max Planck Institute. [1] It also flows in a southerly direction, and it empties into a lagoon in the southeast corner of Ivory Coast. It has 64 lakes that constitute 9.5% of the total number of lakes on the continent. 1, air temperature distributions near Lake Toya, Hokkaido, in winter, Agricult. The lake is formed by the Akosombo Dam (q.v. Even ankle-deep water was saturated with different varieties of small, colorful fish. Diurnal variation of air temperature and humidity on Rybinsk reservoir (in Russian), Leningrad Glavnaia Geofizichezkaia Observatoriaa, Trudy 206, 86. See also, International Boundary Study, "Ghana Togo Boundary", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geography_of_Ghana&oldid=1152650947, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 3.5% (8,520 square kilometres (3,290sqmi)), Northernmost point the point at which the border with, Easternmost point the southernmost section of the border with, Westernmost point - the point where the border with, This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 14:20. Gatz, D. F., and S. A. Changnon, Jr., 1976. Ghana encompasses plains, low hills, rivers, Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, Dodi Island and Bobowasi Island on the south Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana. Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: KML The core problem of the project was the cost and technical difficulty of diverting seawater to the depression. For example, Lake Victoria, the continents largest lake and the worlds second largest freshwater body, is divided among Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30749-4_103, Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. The Great Rift Valley runs through the country lengthwise and Lake Malawi lies to one side of it, covering most of the countrys eastern border. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The idea that female birds simply enjoy colorful feathers and elaborate dances did not catch onthe Yale ornithologist Richard Prum has said his colleagues treat it like a crazy aunt in the evolutionary attic. Still, theres no question that female peacocks like fans of colorful feathers and female birds of paradise like elaborate courtship dances. These modifications are known collectively as lake effects and extend from the microscale to the synoptic scale. [3] In the far north, temperature highs of 31C (88F) are common. ), which, begun in 1961 and completed in 1965, dammed the Volta River just south of Ajena and created a lake extending upstream from the Akosombo Dam to Yapei, beyond the former confluence of the Black Volta and White Volta rivers. View on timesmachine . Lakes, effects on climate Bouda and I emerged from an underwater cave onto a field of boulders, where I noticed a female Fossorochromis rostratus, an insect-eating cichlid, on the sand between two rocks. [1], Ghana is drained by a large number of streams and rivers. March/April 1999. Ghana can be divided into four different geographical ecoregions.The coastline is mostly a low, sandy shore backed by plains and scrub and intersected by . [1] Extending about 1,600 kilometres (990mi) in length and draining an area of about 388,000 square kilometres (150,000sqmi), of which about 158,000 square kilometres (61,000sqmi) lie within Ghana, the Volta and its tributaries, such as the Afram River and the Oti River, drain more than two thirds of Ghana. [3] To the south of the Kwahu Plateau, the heaviest rains occur in the Axim area in the southwest corner of Ghana. [1], With a total area of 238,533 square kilometres (92,098sqmi),[2]. Over the next year, Intel aims to ship millions of units of Meteor Lake with its dedicated AI engine. Page 23. In: Proceedings of the international conference "Handshake across the Jordan Water and Understanding in the Middle East". Ann Arbor: Great Lakes Research Division, pp. This new river would provide irrigation water for vast areas in the French and Italian Sahara. miles. [1] Despite the construction of roads to connect communities displaced by the lake, road transportation in the region remains poor. In 1957 the American Central Intelligence Agency proposed to President Dwight Eisenhower that peace in the Middle East could be achieved by flooding the Qattara Depression. Africa's three Ancient lakes are among the only 20 in the world. The cichlids are faring better in protected areas of Lake Malawi National Park, which has recently been enforcing fishing laws. Kenya, an eastern African nation, has the second highest number of lakes in Africa. He called this process natural selection to contrast it with the artificial selection performed by an animal or plant breeder working to strengthen a pedigree or create a new hybrid. This way a continuous flow of water could be created if inflow and evaporation were balanced out. [1], The Volta Delta, which forms a distinct subregion of the low plains, extends into the Gulf of Guinea in the extreme southeast. If thats the usual understanding of Darwinian evolution, the myriad cichlids of Lake Malawi pose a real challenge to it. Full text is unavailable for this digitized archive article. The lakes creation involved the inundation of 15,000 homes and of 740 villages and the resettlement of 78,000 people. Phillips, D. W., 1978. We were not alone, however. A canal 60 meters deep would connect the Mediterranean with the depression's edge at this narrow isthmus. These artificial lakes can become reservoirs, storing water for irrigation, hygiene, and industrial use. [1], To the west of Accra, the low plains contain wider valleys and rounded low hills, with occasional rocky headlands. Scientists are diving into the question. Im now at the stage where everything I push is conservation, McKaye said, so people can study the system I did.. [1] Many of the hills here have craggy summits, which give a striking appearance to the landscape. [1] At one time, the Ankobra helped transport machinery to the gold-mining areas in the vicinity of Tarkwa. ARTIFICIAL LAKES IN AFRICA. [1], The general terrain in the northern and northwestern part of Ghana outside the Volta Basin consists of a dissected plateau, which averages between 150 and 300 metres (490 and 980ft) in elevation and, in some places, is even higher. Lake Edward Lake Edward is the smallest of the African Great Rift Lakes, located on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and . Introduction to Meteorology, 3rd ed. With a storage capacity of 124,000,000 acre-feet (153,000,000,000 cubic m) of water, Lake Volta is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Lake Chad is a large and shallow endorheic lake whose basin includes the four countries of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. Climate of Lake Balaton, Hungary (in Hungarian), vol. Ghana, which lies in the centre of the Gulf of Guinea coast, 2,420km of land borders with three countries: Burkina Faso (602km) to the north, Ivory Coast (720km) to the west, and Togo (1,098km) to the east. The scenic views and the plethora of wildlife living in and around the lake draw tourists from far and wide. [1] The fourth region, the high plains, occupies the northern and northwestern sector of Ghana. It is about 250 miles (400 km) long and covers 3,283 square miles (8,502 square km), or 3.6 percent of Ghanas area. The first documented person to suggest flooding large parts of the Sahara desert was French geographer Franois lie Roudaire whose proposal inspired the writer Jules Verne's final book Invasion of the Sea. Ghana is also prone to droughts, and was severely affected by floods in 2007 and 2009. By connecting the region and the Mediterranean Sea with tunnels and/or canals, water could be let into the area. Ghana is a West African country in Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea. [1] The two most important are the Densu and Ayensu, both of which rise in the Atewa Range, and which are important as sources of water for Accra and Winneba respectively. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution. [1] Dense groves of coconut palms front the coastline. Local temperature and humidity contrasts around small lakes and reservoirs, Weather 22(12), 497506. [1] The Black Volta River and the White Volta River flow separately into the lake. The project concept was: Mediterranean water should be channeled through a canal or tunnel towards the Qattara Depression, which lies below sea level. The depression was to be filled to a height of 60m below sea level. After the babies are born, the females mouth broodspitting out their babies to forage and chase off predators, then sucking their offspring back in to carry them around the lake. Although the affairs of the unfortunate Panama Canal Company--a burden too heavy for the shoulders of an octogenarian--must severely tax the strength and engross the attention of the world's greatest "promoter," he finds time to say a View Full Article in Timesmachine , See the article in its original context from. To obtain The subject was first discussed in more detail by Dr. John Ball in 1927. (1987). Read more; Read more. It lies 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. You can also search for this author in Many of these, especially in the alpine and pre-alpine regions, have a glacial origin. I first learned about cichlids when I was a boy, shopping to fill an aquarium. Biologists from the Royal Museum for Central Africa and KULeuven demonstrate how a tiny North American freshwater snail can fuel the spread of infectious diseases in Africa. The basin is characterized by poor soil, generally of Voltaian sandstone. It was constructed in 1959 on river Zambezi and has a height of 420 feet and a width of 1900 feet. [1] The lake is navigable from Akosombo through Yeji in the middle of Ghana. Among sand-dwelling cichlids of Lake Malawi, for instance, some females are drawn to the males that move sand with their mouths to build the biggest bowerscrater-like structures or mounds on the lakebed. [1], The Southern Ashanti Uplands, extending from the foot of the Kwahu Plateau in the north to the lowlands in the south, slope gently from an elevation of about 300 metres (980ft) in the north to about 150 metres (490ft) in the south. Influence of a Great Lake Anticyclone on the Atmospheric Circulation, Jour. My first eyeful came at Cape Maclear, a sandy beach popular with backpackers in Lake Malawi National Park. [1] Arms of the lake extended into the lower-lying areas, forcing the relocation of 78,000 people to newly created townships on the lake's higher banks. Takahashi, H., et al., 1978. It then passes through the lake and leaves it as Albert Nile River and then travels for about 200 km to the Sudan border. I watched a blue fish and a yellow one separate a pack of fry from their kin and devour them in the sand. [7] Dr. Ball also made the first preliminary calculations on the achievable filling rate, inflow rate, electricity production and salinity. [3] Humid conditions also prevail in the northern section of the country during the rainy season. [1] Its northern section, which lies above the upper part of Lake Volta, rises to a height of 150 to 215 metres (492 to 705ft) above sea level. The cichlids like to follow divers, Bouda told me after we returned to the boat. [3] From Takoradi eastward to the Accra Plains, including the lower Volta region, rainfall averages only 750 to 1,000 millimetres (30 to 39in) a year. [1] The country has one large natural lake, Lake Bosumtwi, located about 32 kilometres (20mi) southeast of Kumasi. Argonne, Ill.: Argonne National Laboratory. Calculations showed that digging a canal or tunnel would be too expensive. The credit for its "discovery" goes to Dr. John Ball, English director of the Survey of Egypt, who oversaw the mapping of the depression in 1927 and who first suggested using it to generate hydroelectricity. [3] As the sun returns south across the equator, the dry, dusty, tropical continental front, or harmattan, prevails. 30(4), 568581. Darwin believed some animals simply had a taste for the beautiful, an attraction to purely aesthetic traits that confer no fitness or advantage. [1] About 1,500 other houses were destroyed by erosion caused by the powerful waves of the sea. For artificial lakes such as reservoirs, refer to List of dams and reservoirs in South Africa. A casual observer might assume that the ubiquitous blue zebras are all the same species, but Stauffer and other taxonomists have described more than 13 different species of blue zebra mbuna in Lake Malawi alone. I had seen up close and in detail something that was supposed to only be visible from a great distance: the engine of evolution, churning out a marvelous array of underwater life. [1] Small craft can navigate approximately 80 kilometres (50mi) inland from its mouth. [1] Some experts prefer to classify this region as a subdivision of the Ashanti Uplands because of the many characteristics they share. McKaye and I were drinking coffee on the deck of his treehouse, which overlooks a long sandy beach. Many of the blue fish were zebra striped, while one of the yellow varieties had horizontal streaks of black and white. [1], The Ankobra River Basin and the middle and lower basins of the Tano River to the west of the lowlands form the largest subdivision of the Akan Lowlands. [1] Soils in the high plains are more arable than those in the Volta Basin, and the population density is considerably higher. Fish such as cichlids thrive in Lake Tanganyika. For artificial lakes such as reservoirs, refer to List of dams and reservoirs in South Africa. Because of the concerns about using a nuclear solution the Egyptian government turned down the plan,[12] and the project's stakeholders gave up on the project. Ghana has a large and well-preserved national park system that includes Kakum National Park in the Central Region, Mole National Park in the Northern Region, Digya National Park along the western bank of the Volta Lake. Lake Tanganyika is the longest lake in the world, while Lake Kariba is Africa's largest man-made dam and rapidly becoming Zambia's very own French Riviera. Uganda is located in Africas Great Lakes region. IUP Innsbruck University Press, Innsbruck, 2011, pp. Kornienko, V. I., 1969. Kariba Dam forms a transboundary reservoir between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and therefore its management represents a socio-politically sensitive issue because the Kariba Dam operation completely changed the downstream hydrological regime . All of them are alkaline and shallow in nature and are connected via underground seepage of water. Khalil. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. The answer, McKaye explains, is the cichlids fondness for beauty contestsrun by the females. [3] After a relatively short dry period in August, another rainy season begins in September and lasts through November, before the longer harmattan season sets in to complete the cycle. [1] The distance across the widest part, between longitude 1 12' east and longitude 3 15' west, measures about 560 kilometres (350mi). Lions, rhinos, elephants and zebras roamed the game parks, but they did not interest me. [1], The major drainage divide runs from the southwest part of the Akwapim-Togo Ranges northwest through the Kwahu Plateau and then irregularly westward to the Ivory Coast border. Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine now for just $12. [1] Hydroelectricity generated from Akosombo supplies Ghana, Togo, and Benin. (Most cichlids reach sexual maturity at around 6 months.). Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun are two of Cameroons killer lakes. These exploding lakes are located above pockets of magma. Every time you do something in Lake Malawi, he told me, you discover how much you dont know.. The government has created several artificial lakes, primarily for agricultural irrigation. After a few minutes, the frenzy was over and the Fossorochromis mother hovered among her attackers, as though she were just another member of their school. This work proposes a design of a sustainable artificial lake in Jafer basin (JB). Artificial Lakes in Africa. The human population of Malawi has doubled over the past 20 years, and the demand for food has led to newer fishing practices that are emptying out the waters. Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. Cookie Policy [1] The upper section of the Pra River Basin, to the west of the Densu, is relatively flat. [1] Periodic burning occurred over extensive areas for perhaps more than a millennium, exposing the soil to excessive drying and erosion, rendering the area less attractive to cultivators. Nature 138, 717 (1936). Other females favor the males that perform the most elaborate figure-eight dances. 309 square kilometers (119sqmi) (2003), Total renewable water resources: Different species of mbunas will all feed on the algae carpeting the rocks and the tiny creatures within itand yet a fish will patiently seek a mate of its own species rather than breed with another. It is completely within the country of Ghana and has a surface area of 8,502 square kilometres ( 3,28212 sq mi). Young boys sieve the shoreline with . Ghana is a West African country in Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea.. Ghana encompasses plains, low hills, rivers, Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, Dodi Island and Bobowasi Island on the south Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana. [1] Unlike the uplands, the height of the Akan Lowlands is generally between sea level and 150 metres (490ft). Intel and its partners in the PC category stand at the beginning of an exciting multiyear journey of AI-accelerated transformation at scale. Another danger was increased coast erosion because sea currents could change in such a way that even very remote coastal areas would erode. This article is a selection from the March issue of Smithsonian magazine. ; Maritime Climate, Oceanity. The modification of warm air moving over cold water in Proceedings, Eighth Conference on Great Lakes Research, Pub. Mesoscale temperature and dewpoint fields of a very cold airflow across the Great Lakes, Monthly Weather Rev. Without immediate remedial measures, the lakes of Africa might be unable to support the life and livelihood of its people in the coming years. The lakes in Africa are the source of life and livelihoods for millions of Africans. The Victoria Nile river drains this lake and feeds Lake Kyoga which lies at the heart of Uganda and is surrounded by vast tracks of marshy areas. Though my interest in fishkeeping lasted only a few years, the allure of Lake Malawi never faded for me, and last September I finally made the journey to what is arguably the planets most vibrant body of freshwater. 249256. Countries With the Highest Number of Landmines, Countries With The Highest Number Of Test Cricket Grounds. The EcoLodge runs a scuba diving school, and I signed up for a course with Maher Bouda, an Algerian man with long, sun-streaked hair. The resulting lagoon, according to the CIA, would have four benefits:[10], From 1964 onward Prof. Friedrich Bassler led the international "Board of Advisers" which was responsible for planning and financing activities of the project. Additional studies have examined the modifications made by many other lakes in the world, including artificial lakes such as Nassar and Karimba in Africa. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Subscribers may view the full text of this article in its original form through TimesMachine. 13. [1] The region is Ghana's largest producer of cattle. But over the generations, sexual selection can exaggerate traits to the point where they would seem to actually impede survivalfor instance, producing long, cumbersome ornaments or colors so bright that they draw extra attention from predators. [1] Construction of the dam at Akosombo, about 80 kilometres (50mi) upstream from the coast, created the vast Lake Volta and the associated hydroelectric project. ISSN 0028-0836 (print). On one island, finches with thick beaks had outperformed thin-beaked neighbors at crunching seeds. [1] In general, however, the land is flat and covered with grass and scrub. There are pike-size predatory cichlids and perch-like algae-grazing cichlids; cichlids that school to feed on plankton; cichlids that sift through sand for insects; cichlids that steal eggs from other cichlids; and cichlids that pluck the scales off other fish. These lakes are distributed among the various African countries. Most female cichlids in Lake Malawi lay their eggs and then suck them into their cheeks. The northernmost part of Ghana is Pulmakong and the southernmost part of Ghana is Cape three points near Axim. [1] Annual rainfall averages between 1,000 and 1,140 millimetres (39 and 45in). The Katonga River flows from Lake Victoria westwards to Lake George. Not all Italian lakes, though, were created this way. Thus large, deep lakes impose more pronounced modifications than small, shallow lakes, and the effects of lakes in areas of pronounced seasonal change are more significant than those in tropical areas. Jour. The rocky lakebed was like a collapsed cathedral. Cole, H. S., and W. A. Lyons, 1972. Stauffer himself has discovered more than 60 new cichlid species in Lake Malawi, and his work is far from finished. Bell, B., and T. Lajos, (eds. [1] To the south of the divide are several smaller, independent rivers. June 20, 1886. Tropical climate in the Greater Accra region, Semi-arid climate of the Upper West region and Upper East region, Seashores and lagoons of the Western region, Tropical savanna climate and safaris of the Northern Region, Reefs and resorts in the Greater Accra region Capital of Ghana, Kintampo Waterfalls of the Brong-Ahafo region, Humid subtropical climate and mountains of the Volta region, Springs and waterfalls in the Volta region, Tropical rainforest climate; forests and woodlands in the Ashanti region, Wetlands and western reef herons in the Greater Accra region, Tropical monsoon climate; coastlines and beaches of the Central region, Tropical evergreen rainforest at Ankasa, Western Region, Ghana. ISSN 1476-4687 (online) "Flooding the Qattara Depression The Basement Geographer", "Historie des Instituts und der Versuchsanstalt fr Wasserbau", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Qattara_Depression_Project&oldid=1126084333, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com, African Countries With The Highest Number Of Lakes, Countries Bordering The Highest Number Of Other Countries. This creates a positive feedback loop that can create a new species of cichlid in as few as 20 generations. The water would evaporate quickly because of the very dry and hot weather once in the depression. Uganda's lakes account for about 10% of the total number of lakes on the continent. The lake is navigable and provides a cheap route linking Ghanas northern savanna with the coast. Some 850 species have descended from the original cichlids that swam into the lake one or two million years ago. Petterssen, S., 1969. The climate is tropical and the eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry, the south-west corner of Ghana is hot and humid, and the north of Ghana is warm and wet. The inflowing water would then evaporate quickly because of the desert climate. In my lifetime, they could spin out another species or two, McKaye told me. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Hutchinson, P., 1973. Gregory, S., 1967. What is Africa's deepest river? The 537 kilometers (334mi) coastline is mostly a low, sandy shore backed by plains and scrub and intersected by several rivers and streams, most of which are navigable only by canoe. [1], Almost flat and featureless, the Accra Plains descend gradually to the gulf from a height of about 150 metres (490ft). Get the latest Science stories in your inbox. Soc. Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, and Lake Edward surround much of the country. This is a list of the extreme points of Ghana, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. What is biggest mountain in Zambia? Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, extends through small portions of south-eastern Ghana and many tributary rivers such as the Oti and Afram rivers flow into it. The Largest Artificial Lakes In The World Kariba Dam Kariba dam is the largest humanmade lake in the world. The east African nation of Uganda has the largest number of lakes (69) among the African countries. [3] The southern part of the country is characterized by generally humid conditions. In the first phase of the project the Qattara 1 station was to generate 670 megawatts. [1] The highest elevation in Ghana, Mount Afadja in the Akwapim-Togo Ranges, rises 880 metres (2,890ft) above sea level. He has been visiting Malawi on and off for more than 30 years, and as we rode in a Land Rover to the lakeshore he told me about his four bouts of malaria and the local putzi flies, whose maggots burrow beneath human skin. 104(7), 860867. [1], The Oti River and the Daka River, the principal tributaries of the Volta in the eastern part of Ghana, and the Pru River, the Sene River, and the Afram River, major tributaries to the north of the Kawhu Plateau, also empty into flooded extensions of the lake in their river valleys. Thank you for visiting nature.com. Females of Labeotropheus trewavasae seek out blue males with red dorsal fins, rarely mixing with males of Labeotropheus fuelleborni, which look similar except their dorsal fins are also blue. Cahora Bassa is the fourth largest artificial lake in Africa, only preceded by Lake Volta (Ghana), Lake Kariba (located between Zimbabwe and Zambia) and . South-west and south-central Ghana is made up of a forested plateau region consisting of the Ashanti uplands and the Kwahu Plateau. the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Lake Volta, artificial lake in Ghana. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In the case of cichlids, the tastes of the females are so fixed and specific that its hard to see how theyd point to an evolutionary advantage for the male. [1] A plan to irrigate the Accra Plains was announced in 1984. CrossRef Desertification due to global warming and damming have reduced the volume of water in many of these lakes. Bouda has plumbed the Great Barrier Reef, the Andaman Sea and the Red Sea, and he came to Lake Malawi because he wanted to experience something different: It was one of the only freshwater environments that could hold a match to the coral reefs he knew so well. New artificial lakes have been formed during recent decades and more are under construction. Volta Lake, the largest artificial lake in the world, extends from the Akosombo Dam in southeastern Ghana to the town of Yapei, 520 kilometers (323mi) to the north. Survival of the fittest should guide species toward practical traits like strength or ability to find food. Give this article. The major ones include Lake Albert, Lake Edward, and Lake George. [3] The Kwahu Plateau, which marks the northernmost extent of the forest area, also serves as an important climatic divide. McKaye was confounded by the sheer number of cichlid species in Lake Malawi. A further suggestion is for a dam on the Zambezi River above Victoria Falls in order to create an inland sea over much of the Kalahari desert. PubMedGoogle Scholar, Eichenlaub, V.L. Strommen, N. S., and J. R. Harman, 1978. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [1] The hills and slopes in this area are the favoured lands for cultivation. Information on evaporation from artificial lakes is being processed to also become available in the AQUASTAT database. But the reasons behind sexual selection are not always clear. I was getting ready to resign myself to boring guppies, plastic plants and a catfish sucking algae on the glass when the man at the aquarium shop showed me the cichlids. Basins have been formed during recent decades and more are under construction tunnels and/or canals, water be... Boy, shopping to fill an aquarium Mediterranean sea with tunnels and/or,... 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